Bruce Feldman breaks down what Jimbo Fisher's recruiting class means long-term for Texas A&M

After several years of top-10 finishes by the Aggies, it was only a matter of time before Texas A&M signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation.

It all came together for Jimbo Fisher with his 2022 signing class that features three of the nation’s eight Five-Star Plus+ prospects. Texas A&M did such a fine job that the class has received a lot of scrutiny, even publicly from SEC head coaches.

College football insider Bruce Feldman discussed the potential long-term impact of Fisher’s 2022 class on the Paul Finebaum Show this week. Instead of talking about the controversy, Feldman points out the talent of the class.

“It is a ridiculous haul, especially on the d-line, that he brought in this year,” Feldman said. “It feels very much like a Georgia and Alabama class. What Kirby Smart’s done is stack top-3 class after top-3 class, certainly, Nick Saban has done that. Jimbo Fisher recruited really well, by rankings standards, at Florida State, but I think the key thing is, do you have the leadership in the locker room of those key guys that can take that talent.

“Having a ridiculously loaded class gives you a better chance but it doesn’t guarantee you winning national titles. Fisher’s been there a decent amount of time now and he’s only had one really good season. People are going to expect national championships soon. 8-4 last year, they lost a quarterback but they had a lot of players that are going to play in the NFL on that team. They lost to a mediocre LSU team at the end of the year. It’s like the highest-ranked recruiting class ever but what may be a little different than in past recruiting classes, because the portal is so active, it’s going to be critical to be able to keep all of these players. We are going to look back at this 2022 class for Jimbo and what does it translate to. How many times do they get to the playoff, do they win a national title? I can’t wait to see how it plays out.”

Fisher defends recruiting tactics

Jimbo Fisher fired shots back at his fellow SEC coaches who claimed after signing day that his program is benefitting unfairly from NIL deals. Fisher and the Aggies have been the subject of criticism after an internet posting claimed that Aggie boosters had spent between $25 and $30 million to recruit the nation’s top recruiting class.

Fisher turned his criticism to his fellow SEC coaches, after coaches such as Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin made comments. He joked that Texas A&M was going over their “salary cap.”

“And then to have coaches in our league and across this league to say it? Clown acts. Irresponsible as hell,” continued an irate Fisher. “Multiple coaches in our league. And the guys griping about NIL, griping about the transfer portal are using it the most and bragging about it the most. That’s the ironic part. You want character — it’s a joke. And it does piss me off.

“We worry about the kids and social media and internet — how about grown-ups? How about the guys who are supposed to be setting an example, how about writers who are supposed to be writing the right thing? How about coaches who are supposed to be doing the right thing? And I’ll tell you what, I know how some of those guys recruit too. Go dig into that. I know the history, I know the tradition and I know things. Trust me, you don’t want to go down that avenue. Multiple people [have] got NIL issues.

“It’s funny, when Nick Saban said his quarterback got an $800 thousand deal it was wonderful. Now it ain’t wonderful no more. Then we gripe about the transfer portal? You guys take more than everybody. The hypocrisy is a joke. It’s an absolute joke.”

On3’s Austin Brezina contributed to this report.